‘Misguided prank’ angers members of Carolina Forest neighborhood

HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) - People in the Plantation Lakes subdivision of Carolina Forest are speaking out after the Horry County Police Department described a recent attempted kidnapping as a "misguided prank."

On Monday evening, police say teenagers in masks driving a black Yukon approached kids in the Plantation Lakes neighborhood and told them to get in the car.

The teens continued to follow the kids as they ran away, and then neighbors started chasing after the suspects down Carolina Forest Boulevard.

An update posted Thursday on the Horry County Police Department's Facebook page called the incident a "misguided prank."

Neighbors felt it was more like a crime than a prank, and something police can't simply brush aside.

"I don't find this humorous at all. I don't find this something to be looked over. I don't find it to be just passed through," said Jose Burgos, the father of a 2-year-old.

"We didn't feel like it was a misguided prank at all," said resident Tony Coriell. "I have a young son who was afraid to leave the house for days because somebody was going to steal him."

They also think the suspects, just teenagers, should be punished somehow.

"It's irrelevant that they're 15 years old," Burgos said. "I think it's totally irrelevant. They're responsible enough to get in the car and drive it, then they're responsible enough to suffer the consequences of what happens when they did drive that vehicle."

WMBF News reached out to an HCPD spokesperson, asking what led police to believe it was a misguided prank. Her response was, "Our investigation led us to believe it was a prank."